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@squishycat
In the Prop 8 case, you are right that the federal district court judgment has been reinstated because none of the proponents on appeal had standing to defend the proposition. However, you are mistaken when you say that Judge Walker ruled Prop 8 to be invalid under California law and that, therefore, his opinion means nothing outside of California. Judge Walker held Prop 8 unconstitutional as violating both the due process and equal protection clauses in the FEDERAL constitution. While the actual precedential force of his opinion is limited to the Northern District of California, the legal basis of his opinion is relevant to any challenge, anywhere in the United States, its territories and possessions, of laws prohibiting same-sex marriage. Whether it will prove persuasive in those other jurisdictions remains to be seen.

Posted on June 26, 2013 at 4:44 pm
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This is, without question, the first time I have ever heard Norm Maleng referred to as "much beloved." A man of some substance? Sure. A good man? Okay. Much beloved? Like I say, it's a first.

@ellochka
Disagreed. it is perfectly natural for someone's untimely death to make a person reflect on mortality, including one's own mortality, which necessarily involves thinking back to some degree over one's own life. No guilt necessary!

I feel ya, Emma. Five years ago, when I named my pup (see avatar -- get it? "Avatar"?) after my maternal grandmother Ava, I was a quirky outlier. Now this. I have always been fond of Vermont, though. . .